Little Chaos
by gallaghergirl09
Summary: Just when Princess Celestia has made an amazing discovery, a new threat against Equestria rises. The Mane Six, along with Apple Jack's friend Sonatina, have to defeat Minor Chord, Discord's little brother, from creating eternal chaos. (Note: this story does not occur canonically, and was written before Season 3, episode 10, "Keep Calm and Flutter On" was released.)
1. A Letter from the Princess

It was an ordinary day in Ponyville. Phillies and colts were at school; mares and stallions were at their work, and nothing seemed out of place. Even so, Twilight Sparkle couldn't help but feel like something BIG would happen that day.

Twilight was in the library, re-shelving some books that had just been turned in, when Spike came running in and knocked her over, making her drop all the books that she had been levitating.

"Spike!' Twilight scolded as she picked herself up. "What in the hay did you do that for?"

"Sorry, Twilight," Spike replied sheepishly. "It's just that Princess Celestia just sent this for you." He held up an un-opened scroll. "It's marked as 'urgent'"

"Why didn't you just say so!"

"I just wanted to get it to you faster." Spike grumbled as Twilight levitated the scroll out of his hand.

"Dear Twilight," She read aloud.

"I would appreciate it if you would come to Canterlot as soon as possible. Princess Luna and I have made an incredible discovery, and we need you to follow up on it. Before you ask, we need _you_ to do it, because your knowledge of what this discovery concerns far exceeds our own.

Your teacher,

Princess Celestia"

Twilight hastily packed a saddle bag and ran out the door to head to the train station. On the way, Twilight bumped into Rarity- literally!

"Oof!" She exclaimed. "Twilight, what in Equestria are you in such a hurry for?"

"Sorry, Rarity," Twilight replied. "The princess has summoned me to Canterlot. I'm on my way to the train station."

"Oh, are you taking another test?"

"I don't know. Princess Celestia was surprisingly vague in her letter. If it turns out that the fate of Equestria is hanging in the balance –oddly enough, that's what most of the times I'm summoned to Canterlot lead to, anyway- I'll let you and the others know."

"Alright. I'll keep an eye on things at the library while you're away."

"Thanks, Rarity!"

"It's no problem. Now, go on; Princess Celestia is waiting."

"Right. I'll see you soon!" Twilight continued on, and barely caught the next train to Canterlot.


	2. The Discovery

On the train ride, since no pony she could really talk to was on the train with her, Twilight was left plenty of time to wonder what the big discovery was that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had made. What could she possibly know more about than the princesses? What did they expect her to do about it? The thing that bothered her the most was how vague the princess had been in her letter. Was she trying to keep the discovery a secret, and if so, from whom?

None of the questions in Twilight's mind were answered by the time she arrived in Canterlot. She stepped off the train, and was ecstatic to see her big brother, Shining Armor, waiting for her on the platform.

"Shining Armor!" Twilight ran up to hug him

"It's good to see you, too, Twiley." He replied with a smile.

"Shouldn't you be directing the guard around Canterlot Castle?"

"Since the Changling threat was eliminated, naturally the security up here has gone down dramatically. I don't have to be at my post twenty-four/seven anymore. So, when I heard you were coming, I decided that I would come and escort you to the castle."

"That's really sweet of you! We almost never get to spend time as just the two of us anymore."

"All the more reason I came." They began to walk towards the castle.

"Wait- so that wasn't the main reason you came?"

"Well, I had something I wanted to tell you in person. It's pretty big, and judging from how you reacted to not being told in person about the wedding…"

"Hey! That wasn't fully my fault."

"I know, I know, and that's why I wanted to tell you this as soon as possible."

"Ok, what is it?"

"Well… you're going to be an aunt soon."

Twilight stopped in her tracks, silent for a while, then squealed with excitement. "Congratulations! Oh, this is so exciting! How long have you known? Have you thought of any names?"

For the rest of the way to the castle, brother and sister talked about this exciting news, and other aspects of their lives.

"Well, here we are Talk to you later, BBBFF?" Twilight asked as she started up the stairs to the castle.

"If you'll agree to join Cadence and me for dinner tonight."

"Definitely! See you, Shining Armor!"

"Bye, Twiley!"

Twilight was still smiling from ear to ear as she went through the halls of the castle. Her, an aunt! Eventually, she got to the hall where the villains of Equestria and their defeats were depicted in stained glass. There, with her back to Twilight, stood Princess Celestia.

"Princess Celestia? You wanted to tell me about some discovery?" Celestia turned to face her student.

"Yes. It's pretty big, so I'll get straight to the point. We have discovered a seventh element of harmony."

"What? But, how? You always said there were only six."

"And we always thought there _were _only six, until now."

"How did you discover it? Come to think of it, how did you discover the first six?"

"We discovered them all by observation: we knew by watching our subjects that everyday harmony could only exist when ponies were honest, generous, kind, loyal, and filled with laughter."

"So how did you know that there even _was_ a sixth element?"

"Everypony has five senses. We thought that harmony worked the same way: it just…worked out that way. But everypony has a different talent that makes them special, which can become so natural to you that it's _like_ a sixth sense. So we only _assumed_ that there was a sixth until you confirmed that fact by uncovering it. That's what made it all complete- or so we thought."

"How did you discover the seventh?"

"One day, Princess Luna and I were thinking over you and your friends' adventures. We discovered that there was one factor in place when you defeated King Sombra that wasn't when _we _did. We realized that it fit as another element of harmony."

"What was it?"

"The seventh element of harmony is…"

Princess Luna walked into the room just as Celestia finished whispering the name of the seventh element to Twilight.

"Ahem," Luna cleared her throat. "Greetings, Twilight Sparkle; Big Sister."

"Oh, hello, Princess Luna." Twilight returned the greeting.

"I see that Tia has shared our secret with you."

"Yes. But _why_ is it a secret? What do you want _me_ to do with this knowledge?"

"The element needs a wielder: a single pony that represents it really well. We need you to find such a pony for that title."

"Why me?"

"Because," Celestia explained. "You witnessed the first time that the elements' wielders were sort of... already decided. When Luna and I first used them, we decided amongst ourselves who would wield which elements, but you and your friends discovered for yourselves which elements you fit. You will be able to recognize when the perfect wielder comes to light. Do you understand?"

"I think I do…" Twilight replied hesitantly. "But, I still don't understand- why all the secrecy over the new element?"

"Because a new threat has risen."

"_What?"_

"It seems that Discord's little brother, Minor Chord, who was only a foal when we defeated his brother the first time, wants revenge."

"Not that I'm not concerned, but what does that have to do with the secrecy over the new element?"

"Minor Chord knows that there is a seventh element, but not what it is. He wants to find out what it is and destroy it, so you can't use it against him when he tries to take over Equestria."

"Oh. I see."

"Minor Chord not only wants to destroy the harmony stone that we found when we discovered that there was a seventh element," Luna added, "But he wants to destroy whatever fragment of the element itself that lies inside of everypony."

Twilight gasped. "But life without _that_…"

"I know" Agreed Celestia. "There would _be _no harmony- not only in the case of power, but in the case of everypony's hearts."

Twilight thought of Cadence's unborn foal, and the bleak life it would lead if she didn't succeed in her task- the bleak life that _everypony _would lead. Twilight felt more determined than she had ever felt when asked to help save Equestria.

"I'll find a wielder for the seventh element," Twilight declared. "Even if it's the last thing that I do!"

"Which it may end up being," Said a dark, sinister voice, followed by a deep laugh.


	3. Chaos

Celestia glared. "Minor Chord, show yourself!"

A creature only slightly smaller and less jumbled up with other animals' body parts than Discord had been dropped from the ceiling.

"Oh, how I have waited for this day, when my powers would be strong enough to avenge my brother. You know, Big Brother would have just _loved _this, his little chaotic brother turning Equestria over into chaos. I think I'll start my reign from right here in Canterlot, Discord's final resting place, so he can have a front row seat!" Outside, the sky suddenly turned grey, and the doors of the castle shut and locked.

Celestia charged at Minor Chord, and tried to ward off his magic off with hers. It was obvious that it was a hard struggle for Celestia. As suddenly as they had closed, the doors were held open by Celestia's magic.

"I can only hold it long enough for one of us to go out." Celestia grimaced. "Go, Twilight. Go!"

Terrified, Twilight ran out of the castle. Outside wasn't all that much better than inside. In fact, it was worse.

Chaos was already all around. Buildings were either hanging upside down, or painted over with polka dots, or both. The ground looked like a huge checkerboard! Twilight spotted her brother, who had been waiting for her, and ran over to him.

"Twilight, what's going on? I thought that you and your friends defeated Discord!" He asked.

"We did," Twilight replied. "But this is the work of his little brother. He's trying to avenge Discord! He wants to destroy the seventh element of harmony!"

"The seventh _what?" _Before Twilight could explain, Shining Armor's eyes suddenly crossed, and he began to babble gibberish.

"Shining Armor, no!" Twilight exclaimed, but it was too late- her brother was lost to the chaos.

Twilight only spared a moment to sob, then went on her way to the train station to get a ride home. But when Twilight arrived, she saw that the trains were moving backwards, and at too high a speed for anypony to board!

"No! How am I supposed to get back to Ponyville to get my friends? And, I can't find a wielder for an element of _harmony_ in this chaos! Oh, what do I do?"

Twilight collapsed in despair, head in her hooves, racking her brain for a solution.

"Why not use your teleportation spell?" A voice said as Twilight felt a hoof on her shoulder. She looked up and gave as big a smile as she could muster in these circumstances.

"Cadence!" Twilight and her sister-in-law giggled and did their secret hoof-shake

"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs, awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" they sang in unison as they did their hoof-shake.

"How are you?" Twilight asked.

"I'm fine." Cadence replied. "Funny thing about love: it lasts for better or worse, and apparently, harmony and chaos. Minor Chord's powers don't affect me as long as I keep my love spell going."

"You knew about Discord's brother?'

"Not the entire time, no, but I assumed that it was a relative of his when the chaos started."

"Shining Armor didn't. He…was succumbed by the chaos."

"Oh no, my Shining Armor! Where did you last see him?"

"Outside of the castle."

"I'll find him and try to use my love spell on him. In the meantime, teleport to Ponyville to get your friends. The chaos won't have hit there yet."

"Teleport? That far? I've only ever been able to teleport a yard or two!"

"You can do it. Use your determination to save Equestria to really focus on it."

"I'll try." Twilight closed her eyes, focused, and tried her hardest to teleport. When she opened her eyes, she was on the platform of the Ponyville train station.

"I did it!" Twilight exclaimed in amazed disbelief.

"Twilight!" A familiar voice called. Twilight turned her head and saw Rainbow Dash, who had called her, her four other friends, and somepony else that she didn't recognize- a unicorn with a pink coat and strawberry blonde mane. Twilight ran over to them.

"Guys, I've _got _to tell you something." Was her greeting.

"Ok," Apple Jack replied. "But first, meet Sonatina. She's a friend of mine from Manehatten. She just arrived here."

"Nice to meet you, Sonatina." Twilight sped up her greeting. "I'm Twilight Sparkle."

"It's nice to meet you as well, Twilight." Sonatina replied.

"Sonatina is plannin' on settlin' down here in Ponyville for a while." Apple Jack explained.

"Well, you might want to rethink those plans." Twilight advised.

"Why, Twi?"

"Because a storm of chaos is headed this way! It turns out that Discord had a vengeful little brother. He's trying his own hoof at taking over Equestria!"

"_What?!" _The others exclaimed.

"It's true. I saw him with my own eyes. He started his storm in Canterlot. I barely escaped."

"Well, what now?" Rainbow Dash asked. "If things in Canterlot are that bad, how are we supposed to get to the elements of harmony? We all remember what Discord did to them. Who knows what his brother would do to them?"

"That's another thing. A seventh element has been discovred, and Minor Chord- that's Discord's brother- is bent on destroying it!"

"You're kidding!"

"No, I'm not."

"Well," Sonatina stepped towards Twilight, who caught a glimpse of her cutie mark: a treble clef, surrounded by eighth and quarter notes. "What is it?"

"There's no time to explain! We have to get to Canterlot somehow!"

"Well," Pinkie Pie said. "Why not take the train?" At that moment, the trains began to run like the trains in Canterlot had.

"Oh no," Twilight moaned. "The chaos!"

"What do we do _now?"_ Apple Jack asked.

"Ooo! Ooo! I have an idea!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

"What is it, Pinkie?" Twilight knew that if anypony could find their way in this chaos, it would be Pinkie Pie.

"Follow me, everypony!" Pinkie Pie led the other six to the door to the ticket booth, opening and going through it. The others looked at each other, shrugged, and followed. Once inside, they looked out the window. They were now inside the ticket booth at the train station in Canterlot!

"Pinkie Pie," Twilight asked. "How did you know that that door would lead here?"

"Come on," Pinkie Pie laughed. "As if it wasn't _obvious_."

"Yeah, Twilight," Rainbow Dash agreed. "Stop kidding yourself. I mean, this is chaos! The very fact that it doesn't make sense, means that it _does _make sense."

"Interesting logic there," Rarity commented. "Or would it be the _opposite_ of logic?"

"Ok, ok. Let's get down to business." Twilight said. "We need to find the elements of harmony"

"Who says they're hidden?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Maybe they're right where they should be, in Canterlot Tower."

"And why wouldn't Minor Chord hide them?"

"Because that would make sense! He's a villain, and would do that- if we were in _reality._ But we aren't. Minor Chord will think that _we _think that he's hidden the elements, and send us on a wild goose chase to find them like his brother did, if we let him, when they're really right where they're supposed to be."

"Alright, then. To Canterlot Castle!"

They ran out the door, only to stop in their tracks and sink a little, because the streets had been turned into molasses!

"Well, since molasses is so thick, it will take longer to walk through it." Twilight grumbled.

"Ugh, this will do nightmares to my hooficure!" Rarity complained.

"Ha ha! Good thing some of us have wings" Rainbow Dash lifted herself up and hovered over her friends, and Fluttershy soon followed. But, suddenly their wings disappeared and they fell face-first into the molasses. The ominous laugh of Minor Chord was heard.

"Minor Chord!" Twilight shouted.

"Same game, same rules." Minor Chord said as he appeared in front of the ponies. "Until you find the elements, you can't use magic or fly."

At that moment, Rarity, Twilight and Sonatina's horns disappeared. The three unicorns shrieked.

"Not again!" Rarity wailed.

"This sort of thing happens to you often?" Sonatina asked incredulously.

"More often than you'd think." Twilight frowned.

"Well, at least your lives aren't ever boring for long."

"Believe me; boring is preferable in this case!"

"I quite agree." The seven started of walking to the castle.

"Well," Apple Jack said. "It looks like we're in for along walk. Sonatina, how about a song to keep our spirits up as we're hoofin' along?"

"Um… maybe later, AJ…" Sonatina hung her head to avoid meeting Apple Jack's eyes, so she couldn't read her own.

"Come on, you never passed up an opportunity to sing before! What's eatin' ya?"

"_Nothing_, Apple Jack. I just… don't feel up to it right now, ok?"

"Ok, gosh! When did you become so dower?" Apple Jack said that last part under her breath.

"What's so bad here, anyway?" Pinkie Pie asked. "I mean, the roads are _molasses!_ Sure, it isn't chocolate milk rain or cotton candy clouds, but still!"

"Minor Chord's name fits his world." Sonatina commented.

"What do you mean, Sonatina?" Twilight asked.

"In music, a minor chord is three notes sounded together that harmonize, but sound sad."

"And?"

"Well, look around! The sky is grey, we have to walk slow, and we've lost our wings and horns. It sure seems sad to me."

"I guess I never made that connection."

"Well, you'd have no reason to. Your talent is magic, while mine is music."

"I see."

The more they walked, the more everypony was horrified at the chaos that had taken over Canterlot- well, except for Pinkie Pie, who was too concerned with licking up the molasses streets. Every so often, Apple Jack would try to get Sonatina to sing, but every time she said no again. Eventually, the seven arrived at the hall connecting to Canterlot tower.


	4. The Seventh Element

The seven stood in front of the closed door to Canterlot Tower.

"Oh, I forgot- you need a horn to open this." Twilight said. "But Minor Chord took our horns. That's not fair!"

"Maybe you don't need a horn!" Pinkie Pie said. "This is chaos. Maybe you just need to put your tail in the keyhole and turn it."

"I'll try" Twilight turned and twisted her tail in the keyhole. The doors opened slowly. Twilight grabbed the box that held the elements, and hesitantly opened it. Soon she exclaimed, "They're all here! Pinkie, you were right!" She took out the elements one at a time and handed them to their respective representatives to put on. For a while, the seven stood still.

"Wait- we got the elements. Why haven't we gotten our wings and horns back?"

Minor Chord came from the shadows and cackled, hovering above the ponies.

"You've only found six of the seven! You can't defeat me with only six." He began to laugh maniacally. His sides began to hurt, and he fell back on a piano that no pony has seen there. Notes clashed. "What now, my little ponies?"

Sonatina felt that there was no hope left. She did what she always did when she felt sad: she sang. The words came from out of the blue.

"Harmony cannot be undone.

The magic of friendship has won."

Everypony was awed at the beauty of Sonatina's voice. As she sang, her eyes closed and she began to magically rise in the air. A burst of light came from inside of her, and once it was gone, she lowered back down to the ground, wearing an element of harmony necklace, with a black eighth note emblem.

"No, Minor Chord; we _have_ the seventh element: music!" Sonatina declared.

"Impossible!" Minor Chord exclaimed.

"Or is it? You didn't hide the elements of harmony. You sort of gave us a hint as to what the seventh element was when you fell on that piano –which I think you conjured up-. It's almost as if you _wanted_ to be defeated. Why?"

"Being defeated was the only way to reunite with my brother. I wanted to force you to turn me to stone. My plan was complicated when the seventh element was discovered, so I had to threaten it to move things along. It was only a bonus that my plan included revenge on the ponies that separated me from my beloved brother in the first place."

"That reminds me," Twilight cut in. "What have you done to the princesses?"

"They're in the Canterlot Caves. Go ahead and defeat me, will you? Before you do, tohugh, can you promise me you'll put my statue in the garden, next to my brother's?"

"Of course."

"Thank you."

The ponies activated their elements, and Minor Chord was turned into stone. Their wings and horns re-appeared. Together, the seven pushed Minor Chord next to Discord. Walking back inside, they met Celestia and Luna, who had been released upon Minor Chord's defeat.

"You've defeated Minor Chord, save Equestra yet again, and you've made a new friend. I am very proud of all of you, as you should be, too." Celestia smiled. The now mane seven nodded in agreement, and walked outside the castle after returning the elements to Canterlot Tower.

"You know," Fluttershy said. "I didn't think Minor Chord was all that bad."

"I agree" added Apple Jack. "He might have turned things upside down, but he just wanted to reunite with his family. You can't blame him for that."

"No," Twilight agreed. "And he reunited others, too. I got to spend more time with my brother and sister-in-law. Apple Jack, you got to reunite with Sonatina. I wonder if Minor Chord knew that would happen as a result of his actions."

"Either way," Sonatina concluded "I don't think he should be called Minor Chord anymore. I believe his song now has a strong, beautiful Major Chord."

"Ugh, too much sappy!" Rainbow Dash groaned. "Hey, Pinkie Pie, do you wanna see if there's any molasses left on the roads?"

"Do I ever!" Pinkie replied. They both sped from the scene. Just as they sped off, Cadence and Shining Armor walked up.

"Shining Armor!" Twilight ran to her brother. "You're okay!"

"Yeah," He smiled. "Thanks to Cadence, and your direction."

"Oh," Cadence said modestly. "You had mostly come to your own senses by the time I found you."

"So, Twiley, who's your new friend?" Shining Armor pointed to Sonatina, who was approaching with the others.

"Oh," Twilight said. "This is Sonatina. SOnatina, this is my brother, Shinging Armor, and his wife, Princess Cadence."

"Sonatina?" Cadence asked. "My aunt, Princess Celestia, has mentioned you. You were going to sing for her at the castle, but you never showed up."

"Huh?" Apple Jack and Twilight, on either side of Sonatina, said incredulously, looking questioningly at their friend.

"Uh… eh heh…" Sonatina said sheepishly "That's…a _really_ funny story. You see…"

"Twilight, AJ, Sonatina," Rarity, who had gotten ahead of the others, along with Fluttershy. "You'd best hurry up if we're going to make it back home before nightfall."

"We'd better get going." Twilight said. "Cadence, you know that if you and Shining Armor eve need my help with _anything,_ you just let me know and I'll be on the next train out, ok?'

"I'll keep that in mind." Cadence smiled. Twilight and her friends began to walk off.

"What was that all about, Twi?" Apple Jack asked.

"Oh, I'll tell you and the others later."

"I just have one or two questions." Sonatina said. "Twilight, you _knew_ I would represent the element of music, didn't you?"

"From the moment I first saw your cutie mark." Twilight admitted.

"But why didn't you tell us?"

"The rest of us had to figure our element out for ourselves. I didn't want to kinx it if that was a pattern. I guessed how you would discover it, too. I had noticed that you didn't find joy in music anymore for some reason. Once you relied on it for joy again, the element came to light."

"Sonatina, unable to find joy in music?" Apple Jack said incredulously. "You're kidding!" She faced Sonatina. "She's kidding, right?"

"Well…um…" Sonatina hesitated. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie re-joined the others at that moment. "Oh! Was there any molasses left, Pinkie?"

Pinkie Pie licked her lips "Not anymore!"

Everypony laughed and stepped on the train.


End file.
